In a new
article NYTimes writer, JEFF SABATINI, rips on the Lexus
RX400h hybrid because it provided few gains in fuel
efficiency on his test drive. While a valid criticism,
Mr. Sabatini, also acknowledges that hybrid
vehicles do their best in city driving, yet Mr.
Sabatini's test drives took place on highway drives of
several hundred miles.
Mr.Sabatini also states, "But the government's
testing procedure (for fuel economy) has a habit - one
that seems to be exaggerated with hybrids."
Actually, if Mr. Sabatini were being fair, he would have
to acknowledge that essentially ALL vehicles fail to
meet EPA fuel efficiency ratings. More important, as
hybrids do less well on the highway, conventional
vehicles do less well in the city.
In fact, Detroit lobbied the government NOT to allow the
EPA to revise its testing methodologies, which consumer
groups claim inflate conventional vehicle fuel
efficiency as much as 35 percent. (Read
more)
If Mr. Sabatini had spent a few days fighting Chicago
traffic -as millions do everyday - the Lexus hybrid
would have made significantly greater gains in fuel
efficiency versus the conventional Lexus. Even more
important, if Mr. Sabatini were to drive a Hummer,
Escalade, Explorer, Escape or Suburban in the same
Chicago traffic, each vehicle would have achieved far
less than their EPA estimates - not to mention emitting
far more pollution.
Obviously Mr. Sabatini had too much of an axe to grind
to be fair or objective. He even goes out of his way to
suggest that Toyota isn't as green as portrayed.
Perhaps not, yet Toyota is still greener than Ford, GM,
and Chrysler. In fact, only Honda is more green. Number
2 isn't good enough?
Moreover, until millions of hybrids are sold, their
sales will have little affect on foreign oil dependency
or in cleaning the air. Thus, hybrids could be called a
work in progress, and new hybrid batteries offer the
potential for huge gains in efficiency. Witness the
evolution of the first generation Toyota
Prius to the second generation Prius.
Finally, we're talking about a Lexus here, right? People
don't buy a Lexus solely because they are trying to save
the planet, so let's be real. Nonetheless, buying a
hybrid Lexus today could lead to more fuel efficient
luxury hybrids tomorrow as the technology evolves.
That is the potential of this emerging technology. Isn't
that the real point of the Lexus RX400h?
 |
|
